Missile Defense Briefing Report: No. 327

JAPAN MULLS NEW MISSILE SYSTEM...
In the face of persistent ballistic missile threats from North Korea, the Japanese government has turned to the U.S. for additional help in augmenting its national missile defense architecture. Japan’s Defense Ministry is reportedly now contemplating the acquisition of both the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and a ground-based Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) interceptor unit (a version of which is already deployed on Aegis destroyers). These additions would provide more opportunities for Japan’s Self-Defense Forces to respond to incoming missiles, above and beyond the “two-stage system” based upon Aegis ships with SM-3 interceptors and units of the ground-based Patriot Advance Capability-3 currently being used by the island nation. (Japan Times, June 21, 2014)

...AMID CONTINUED NORTH KOREAN PROVOCATIONS
North Korea, for its part, continues to flex its ballistic missile muscles. Two SCUD missiles fired by the Hermit Kingdom this July bring the total of rocket and missile tests carried out by the DPRK this year to 13, and the number of projectiles launched to 90. The missiles from the most recent test landed in the sea between Japan and North Korea.(New York Times, July 8, 2014)

NEW CLOUD COVER TO PROTECT AGAINST MISSILES
Recently, the U.S. Navy tested a new anti-missile capability: three radar-absorbing carbon-fiber clouds that possess the ability to obscure targets from missile tracking technology. These clouds, known as “maritime obscurant generator prototypes,” weaken the effectiveness of radars by means of their carbon-fiber particles. In comparison to other anti-ship missile defenses, the clouds provide a relatively cheap means of countering the threat of a missile attack on a naval vessel. According to Capt. David Adams, head of the Navy's 7th Fleet Warfighting Initiatives Group, “A defense in depth approach has a lot of advantages. Not only do we know the smoke is effective, it adds a level of uncertainty and unpredictability to the equation.” (Pacific News Center, July 5, 2014)

RUSSIA PLANS MISSILE UPGRADES
The Russian government plans to augment and overhaul its arsenal of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, a top Russian military official has said. According to Col. Igor Yegorov of Russia's Strategic Missile Forces, military modernization plans now underway by the Russian Defense Ministry will include a significant revamp of the country’s ballistic missile arsenal. "By 2016, the share of new missile systems will reach nearly 60 percent, and by 2021 their share will increase to 98 percent," Yegorov has told the Itar-TASS news agency. (Global Security Newswire, July 7, 2014)

POLAND NARROWS MISSILE DEFENSE SEARCH
In recent months, both Poland and Germany have actively considered a number of missile defense systems - including Lockheed Martin’s Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) and Raytheon’s Patriot - as the answer to their missile defense needs. Now it appears as though at least one of the nations has made a choice. Poland is said to have nixed MEADS from consideration, and short-listed the Patriot for potential induction into its arsenal. Warsaw now needs to choose between the Patriot and the Aster, a joint venture of defense firms Thales and MBDA. (Defense News, July 7, 2014)

NEW DETAILS ABOUT CHINA’S HYPERSONIC MISSILE
China has begun research on a hypersonic jet-powered cruise missile to accompany its previously-tested high-speed glide warhead. The new platform is intended to provide the PRC with an “ultra-fast maneuvering missile capable of traveling at speeds of up to Mach 10 - nearly 8,000 miles per hour,” according to press reports. U.S. intelligence officials believe that China’s hypersonic glide vehicle could be used to penetrate American missile defenses and deliver a nuclear weapon, or as a method of attacking U.S. aircraft carriers. According to Rick Fisher of the International Assessment and Strategy Center, “China long ago identified hypersonics as a critical future military technology and has invested heavily in its development for future weapons.” Both the U.S. and Russia have begun conducting research on hypersonic missiles as well. (Washington Free Beacon, July 9, 2014) Japan mulls new missile system...;
...amid continued North Korean provocations;
New cloud cover to protect against missiles;
Russia plans missile upgrades;
Poland narrows missile defense search;
New details about China's hypersonic missile